Hello, and welcome back to 'Lollipop'. I have recently updated the summary, and will shortly (when I have time) change the name to something more fitting. I will let you all know when I do this.

For now, I hope you like this next instalment of the story, I'm sorry for being away for so long, but it is what it is.

I'm also very proud that I managed to finish this all on the same day as deciding to start uploading again.

Remember to review and tell me how you like it…Too much darkness, or not enough for our dear Sakura? Are there any scenes or ideas you'd like me to include in this FF?

DISCLAIMER: I clearly DO NOT own Naruto…at all. This is purely for fun and to satisfy my awkward mind…

Read and Review please!

-:D-

After her trial Sakura had gone straight to her quarters, the room right across from Sasori's and literally torn of her clothing to get into the much needed shower as quickly as possible. She had then spent the next 10 minutes standing under the beautifully hot running water, which cascaded across her creamy skin and soothed the knots in her muscles.

As the dull ache in her arms and legs reseeded, she continued to scrub herself clean of the dried blood that coated her arms and hands. She may have scrubbed a little too hard considering her skin was almost red raw after she'd kept scrubbing until she was sure the victim's blood was all but gone. The thought did little to soothe her mind though, and she knew that his blood was still burned into her skin even though it was visually gone.

Not wanting to remind herself of her previous deeds, she slowly climbed out of the shower, dried and dressed again in her new akatsuki cloak.

That was when someone had knocked on her door, and she opened it cautiously. Before she could react properly, a pair of silk like lips claimed her own, and seconds later she found her back to the door, which slammed shut.

Opening one eye in time to see a flurry of red hair, she finally relaxes into the heated kiss and runs her fingers through the hair of the man that now belonged to her. This wasn't enough for said man, who then removed her hands and pinned them above her head, gaining better access of her lips and neck, which he began to thoroughly devour with hot wet kisses.

Sakura lets out a sweet mewl when he nibbles on her sweet spot of her neck, and arches into his very strong embrace. Sighing to herself, she brings his lips back up to her own, and kisses him tenderly, giving him the sign that she was too tired for anything more.

Sasori pulls her into his arms and holds her against his firm sculptured chest in a tender yet heated embrace.

Even though he had heeded her silent words, he wasn't happy about his fun being lost. "Leader wishes to see you…" He slowly whispers into her ear, his lips slightly catching on the shell of her pale skin. He smirks to himself when he feels her shudder against his form.

Ah such was the reactions he adored from the pink haired girl in his arms. He releases her suddenly, and leads her out of the room, without asking her consent to leave.

"Why does he wish to see me?" the question from her was asked dreamily, as though she would much rather be resting.

Sasori frowns but answers her simply "He wants to talk to you about your next assignment". Sakura groans inwardly and out. Hopefully she wouldn't have to leave on a mission so soon after joining…

"Come on" Sasori teases, dragging her along with him.

-:D-

"Leader, are you sure, in ever essence that this girl, the one whom is here partly because she is infatuated with Sasori, be able to pull off this mission?" Itachi Uchiha enquires as he stands alone in the leader's office. His blood red eyes are very serious, not masking any of his clear distaste in the leader's choice.

Leader stares at him intently, his ringed orbs focusing on each feature of Itachi's face, almost as if reading his every thought.

"Of course I am sure Uchiha, do you really underestimate my plans?"

Itachi stands fervently still, like an ancient Greek statue made of gold. "I do not underestimate your brilliant mind Leader, but I feel as though Haruno will not agree to this as easily as you anticipate-"

"Oh she will, dear friend. She will" Pein counters. Itachi still does not move without any emotion at all. "Do not fret. She may have once been closely involved with your younger brother, but I saw no love in her eyes for him anymore. She is no longer loyal to her village or to her comrades"

"Of course Leader, but she seemed closer to the Uzumaki boy…She could change her mind" The eldest Uchiha states his words slowly and carefully.

Before Leader can reply, there is a knock on the office door. It was light, but hard enough for them to hear it clearly, obviously done by a woman's hand.

"Leader-Sama, it's Sakura" said girls voice trails trough the thick wooden door. Itachi nods briefly towards Leader before opening the door, and brushing past the cherry blossom kunoichi like a ghost.

Taking a deep breath, Sakura gets ready to go inside, hoping her tired mind wouldn't make her look like an idiot.

-:D-

"Take a seat, Sakura" Pein offers as she enters. Heeding his words, she sits in a chair across from Leaders desk and crosses her leg over the other.

"You wanted to see me?" She asks simply, not caring if what she said was rude or not. She was tired, and wanted sleep. Pleasantries would have to wait.

"Yes young one, I have a new mission for you" He replies, ringed orbs boring into her own. If this were the old Sakura, she would have shifted uncomfortably and tried to fight the sudden urge to run from his heavy gaze. Now, she was a different person and simply shrugged it off, looking directly back in to his clinically evil eyes with just as much intensity.

After a moment of what could have been a staring war if it had not been a serious moment, Pein speaks again, clearing his throat for her full attention. That was unnecessary considering they were alone and she wanted out of there as quick as possible.

"This mission has an extended time frame, since you will not be leaving the base for it at all" At his reassuring words, Sakura half smiles, and sinks lower into the chair in relief. She could finally rest and get used the living in the base without being covered in blood…And that also meant special time for Sasori…

A multitude of scenarios and scenes run through her head, and she basks in their seduction for a moment.

Pein gives a little chuckle, which brings Sakura's mind right back to reality, snapping her out of her inappropriate thoughts. Day dreaming seemed to be the only trait she had kept from her days in team 7, the rest dispersed for new, darker traits. But Sakura without day dreaming is…not Sakura at all, even if she was seated right in front of the Akatsuki leader, her leader, who had obviously guessed what she was thinking…or he had read her mind. That made the pinkette blush a light shade of pink, nearly mirroring the colour of her hair.

"Sakura, do you recall your days in team 7?" Leader asks a question of which he should already know the answer to.

She nods, her locks of coral pink hair swishing with the movement, of course she did, it wasn't that long ago…Naruto had only left a couple of months before to go yet again on a deadly mission to bring back Sasuke.

Leader then continues his composure back in place, dead serious once more. "Naruto Uzumaki, a close friend of yours?"

"Used to be a close friend of mine" Sakura corrects, her mind not so pleasantly travelling back to the many arguments the two friends had had over the last year. Her green orbs narrow in distaste at remembering his lingering words "you're not Sakura anymore". Naruto had lost all sense when he went after Sasuke the first time, he had gone for her. But then, he slowly changed his mind, and cruelly mentioned that she was no longer the reason why. He was doing it for pride.

And in that time, they drifted apart, his missions grew longer, and she became too lost in her dark mind to care about his absence. She tried to hold on to her loyalty of Konoha, it was her last reason for fighting…the last reason she had to continue. On missions she blocked out her true feelings…until that day when she saw Sasori and Deidara again, forever reminded by his still living body that she was weak. Sasori had then brought out her dark careless side. The side that would betray her own village if they did not see her as good enough.

Leader watches the young woman's facial expression shift as she remembered, pain, hurt, anger, weakness, strength, and her expression finally rested into a thick mask of neutral interest.

"Why, Leader-Sama?" She questions, looking at him dead on. "Does this mission involve the Kyuubi container?"

As much as she felt emotionless, Sakura could not bring herself to say his name. That would be giving him too much of a hold on her, and she did not need to be held down by old ties.

Leader himself was almost, almost shocked by her lack of using her old comrade's name. But she carries on regardless of his curiosity for her reasons. It seemed a greater chance of her cooperating if she distanced herself from him in such a way as this.

"Yes, dear cherry blossom" He answers "This mission is all about the kyuubi container…"

-:D-

Later on that very same day, Sakura was outside in the dimming sunlight, for it was late afternoon. Sat under a tree, of which shared the same name as her, she felt a little more at ease than she has 2 hours earlier.

She had not wanted to bring herself to contemplate her mission, or what it truly held for her. Twisting a piece of grass between her fingers, she sighs ever so softly, the wind carrying it off into the distance.

Sakura closes her eyes, and leans back against the tree, using its sturdy trunk for support. She didn't know whether she liked this mission or not. Her head said the top, her heart said the latter.

Of all the positions she could have possibly gotten herself into, this was most definitely the worst. With out a doubt, this was the worst decision maker of her life. Could she even be able to pull it off?

Would her heart allow such callous behaviour, even after she closed all loyalty off? Could she bare the burden of such a heavy mask, one to cover her own darkness and seem in need of someone she hadn't spoken to for a very long time?

Sakura may have been considered wise by many, but this time, she honestly did not know what she was going to do. Her inner turmoil was going to cut her to pieces and serve her on a silver platter if she were not careful.

A low humming breaks her from her reverie. Looking up in instinct, she spots Deidara and Sasori slowly heading towards her up the hill, the base at the bottom. She shakes her head, her pink locks splaying out around her shoulders. Could she deal with being friendly right this minute?

"Ah pinky, whats wrong?" Deidara calls, the nickname 'pinky' used to obviously taunt her indiscreetly. It wasn't working.

Sasori slaps him upside the head, and carefully sits by his lover's side. He does not say it, but his gaze on her face tells her that she will have to tell him about her little meeting with the leader.

She sighs, and let's go of another piece of grass, watching as it slowly flutters into Deidara's face whom was standing in front of her. He scowls, but also joins Sasori, by sitting on Sakura's other side, effectively boxing her in. she could not escape now even if she tried.

She didn't think she wanted to though.

Sasori kisses her temple, very aware of Deidara's disgusted face at his tender show of affection. It was a nudge to tell him about what had been said.

She looks at him, her eyes growing dark and unsteady. The wind itself seems to pick up speed, splaying all three missing nins hair around as it howled lowly in their ears.

The red head raises an acute eyebrow at her sudden lack of voice. There must be something up.

"Tell me Sakura, what is it that is plaguing you?" He questions, openly asking her to tell him.

Deidara was now also staring at her pale features, her eyes, that had somehow gotten darker over the last few minutes, and now he too was just as curious as to what had her so silent.

Without looking at either S-ranked criminal beside her, she stares right ahead.

"Leader-Sama told me what my Mission is"

A simple sentence, enough to satisfy them she hoped. But her words bore more than just the truth, it held her raw emotion that she though had all but gone. Maybe it had, but the little part that was left was scaring her. She is silent and waits to be questioned again.

"And what is to be your mission?" Deidara asks before Sasori could get the glory.

She stands up and turns to them both, looking them in the eyes at the same time. Pushing all of the remaining compassion into her words, hoping that they would never ever come back to haunt her, or break her into something weak again, she opens her mouth to speak.

"I have to capture Uzumaki Naruto"